Last year’s Skyfallsaw the much welcomed return of several classic James Bond elements like Q, Moneypenny, fancy gadgets and flamboyant villains (with their own ridiculously elaborate secret bases). There was still one element missing though: Memorable henchmen like Oddjob, Knick-Knack and of course, the unforgettable Jaws.

But as we recently learned, the Bond franchise is getting back into the henchman business again with the still untitled Bond 24 (which contrary to popular belief will not see 007 teaming up with Jack Bauer), as a leaked casting report revealed that the producers were on the look for an “iconic” foe for Bond:

We are looking to follow in the tradition of JAWS and ODDJOB in finding an iconic baddy.

“Hinx (Male, 30 – 45)”

“Ideally over 6ft2. Hinx is the main henchman/assassin. We are looking for an imposing extremely physically fit actor. He has several fights with Bond and will have to have stunt training. He has to drive. We are looking for someone very unusual, possibly from a sports background.”

“Height: 180cm – 195cm”

And according to a new report from Latino Review, returning director Sam Mendes and co have found their man in a certain destroyer who’s just got done guarding the galaxy. That’s right, none other than Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy, Riddick) has apparently landed the gig of Hinx (the name may change), who will be using his fists to leave Bond shaken and stirred on several occasions throughout the film.

The ex-WWE wrestler had about as big of a star-making turn in Guardians as possible, as he stole the film several times with not just his physicality, but his unexpected comic delivery. And while I doubt the role of Hinx will offer quite the same amount of comedic opportunities as his role of the very literal Drax in the much beloved Marvel flick did, I still have complete faith in his casting.

And Bond won’t just have his hands full with burly ex-wrestlers it seems, as UK’s Daily Mail is reporting that Oscar nominated French actress Lea Seydoux has also joined the production as a “femme fatale”. Which, in my broken knowledge of French, essentially translates to “Bond girl”, right? Right?! Well, the producers aren’t saying much, but that is the educated guess.

What we do know about the role, is that initially the role called for a Scandinavian female, but Mendes and his producers changed it up for some Gallic je ne sais quoi instead. Seydoux is of course coming off a multiple awards winning performance in the much praised Blue Is the Warmest Colour (when the film won the Palme d’Or at Cannes, the jury was so blown away by Seydoux and co-star Natalie Exarchopolous’ performances that they insisted that the actresses share the award with the director), which definitely would have brought her to the Bond producers’ attention.

But she’s not all arty dramas though, as she already got some high-tech super experience when she played assassin Sabine Moreau, the main female antagonist, in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. And although she normally sticks to movies in her native French, she’s regularly made the jump to Hollywood, starring in such productions as Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood, Inglourious Basterds and Midnight in Paris.

Seydoux is expected to meet with Mendes and the returning cast – Daniel Craig, Ralph Fiennes and Naomi Harris – for a script read-through as well as a costume test in November, with cameras set to start rolling a month later. Bond 24 is scheduled for release on November 6, 2015.

A man of many passions - but very little sleep - I've been geeking out over movies, video games, comics, books, anime, TV series and lemon meringues as far back as I can remember. So show up for the geeky insight, stay for the delicious pastries.

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Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is apparating into cinemas today, which should get all the Potterheads out there screaming in delight. And we're adding to that excitement by revealing the five winners of magical movie hampers worth R2000 each.

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